The Big Change Arrow's Recent Death Will Put Felicity Through

Death has come to Arrow in a very big way as one of the main characters was sent off to that great vigilante bunker in the sky in the eighteenth episode of Season 4. Laurel’s demise is naturally going to influence her father in a big way, and the flash-forward has already proven that losing his friend is enough to push Oliver to the brink. According to executive producer Marc Guggenheim, Felicity Smoak will also be put through an emotional wringer that changes her priorities following the loss of Laurel.

She’s broken up with Oliver and she’s also broken up with the team essentially. And in Episode 19, we’ll see the undoing of one of those decisions.

The dynamic of Team Arrow had already felt off prior to Laurel’s death due to Felicity’s absence, so it's a relief to hear Marc Guggenheim teasing to TVLine that she’ll be returning to at least one of her previous roles. She’s been taking time for herself ever since she discovered that working with the team wasn’t going to be possible so long as Oliver was going to keep batting his eyelashes and finding excuses to declare his love for her, so her absence in the bunker has been perfectly understandable. Now that her friend has been murdered, however, the stakes are higher than ever and her pals on Team Arrow will need her back.

Lest we get too excited about the prospect of Felicity resuming ALL of her previous duties on the show in Episode 19, Guggenheim’s co-executive producer Wendy Mericle was quick to disclaim that, saying Felicity doesn’t have to be both tech guru and girlfriend to be back in the action.

One does not mean the other is going to happen. She could come back to the team and that does not mean that she’s back together with Oliver.

Given the way that Arrow has built up the Oliver/Felicity relationship in Season 4, and considering that big Olicity moments tend to come in situations when emotions run high, a reunion between the Green Arrow and his best gal wouldn’t be inconceivable in Episode 19. On the whole, however, Felicity really needs to come back to the team before she entertains the thought of rekindling a relationship with Oliver. They did break up for very real reasons, and getting back together out of grief wouldn’t do anything to resolve those issues. One break-up is enough. We don’t need to see another one, and there are bigger concerns than romance right now.

Besides, Felicity is really the one person that Team Arrow has always needed when the going gets tough. Even with the loss of Laurel, the team is practically overflowing with muscle, and Oliver, Digg, and Thea can’t exactly get answers out of a computer by punching it. Oliver is great at shooting bad guys with arrows, but he needs Felicity to work her techno magic to tell him where to aim. Hopefully, Arrow will bring Felicity back into the fold as Overwatch before teasing the possibility of Felicity back as Oliver’s girlfriend.

Arrow airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET. To see what shows will be coming back in the not-too-distant future, check out our schedule for summer TV premiere dates.